East Brisbane - State School Years

Our next move took us to Eskgrove St, East Brisbane.  This house had a large back yard adjacent to Mowbray Park.  Although we had an enormous Mango tree and a magnificent Jacaranda, there was still plenty of room to play games of Badminton.

We started school in grade 5 at East Brisbane State School.  It was my misfortune to be reading aloud when the Deputy Principal poked his head into our classroom one day.  He gestured for me to continue as he walked in, sat down and closed his eyes.  When I finished my recitation task, he opened his eyes and said "That is how the English language is meant to be spoken".  He thanked me and walked out of the room, but every so often he would arrange to drop in and request that I read to him.  This was the first time it became apparent to me that I spoke differently, although in the Snowy Mountains the other kids accused me of being a "Pom".  To add to my embarrassment, my sister and I reached puberty in the 5th grade.

At this time there was a major change in Queensland Education.  It was decreed that Primary School would encompass grades 1 to 7 with High School covering grades 8 to 12.  So as we moved into grade 6, all the grade 7s and 8s went off to High School.  Surprisingly, there were a number of girls in those higher grades who had to leave due to pregnancy.  There was a very strange boy in our class who was expelled for exposing himself while he shaved his pubic hair ... his nickname was "Boo Boo"!

When we moved into grade 7, Mum was making us the most fashionable clothes.  She could just look at a magazine, make up a pattern and the clothes were perfect.  Pin striped pants suits, A-line dresses with keyhole necklines ... we were the trend setters at the school.  The Principal thought our influence so great that he tried to convince me to wear a uniform, sure that everyone else would follow suit.  Sadly, every uniform he gave me to try on just never seemed to fit.  Such a shame! ☺

I should name and shame our grade 7 teacher because he desperately wanted to get my sister alone after school, but I stayed in the doorway by saying I wasn't allowed to go home without her.  He gave up after a while, but one of our classmates bragged about being in a sexual relationship with her father, who would stagger out of the pub across the road to collect her after school.

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